We searched for a traditional Taiwanese breakfast. Google brought me to an article that pointed me to:
阜杭豆漿Fu Hang Dou Jiang
Because we had not researched properly (we only took note of which Metro station to go to, and which station exit), we spent a bit of time looking around corners and up and down Zhongxiao E. Road before we finally found Fu Hang Dou Jiang on the second floor, which was the food court, of Hua Shan Market, at a quarter past noon — hey, that's lunch time! With just 15 minutes before the shop closed, the queue at Fu Hang Dou Jiang (stall #18) was still long. Half the group grabbed the next available table, and the other half lined up and craned necks to see what was on the menu (all in Chinese) and what was being bought by other customers.
We saw people order a drink, some kind of soup, and bread with eggs. When it was our turn to order, we had no idea what the names of the food and drinks were and none of the servers spoke English. I looked at the tray of the person ahead of me. It had bread with something stuffed in it. I pointed to it, indicating to the server I wanted the same. For drinks, my companion said "cold". The server came back with a bowl. Thinking she had been misunderstood, my companion mimed drinking and the server took the bowl and exchanged it with plastic cup of something. Two orders of bread and drink, NT$150 (about Php225).
I stabbed the plastic cover of my cup with a straw and took a sip — warm soy milk. Not bad. Next, food. I excitedly unwrapped my (okay, our, since we were sharing) breakfast and saw that inside the bread was a long piece of...another bread that looked deep fried. Boo!!! I — we — had wanted eggs inside the bread! I copied from somebody who must have been on a carbo–loading mission! On the up side, I liked the flat bread; it was crunchy on the outside, but soft on the inside, and it had bits of scallion. The deep fried bread stick though was meh. The flat bread and the bread stick as a very bread-y sandwich...was very heavy on the stomach.
Research, after the visit, told me that 1) soy milk is called dou jiang 豆漿 (that's half of the stall's name!) and that Fu Hang Dou Jiang serves soy milk in a bowl, unless you request for it to be in a cup; 2) the bread-y breakfast we had is called shaobing youtiao 燒餅油條 — shaobing is the flat bread with scallions and youtiao is the deep fried bread stick; and 3) that shaobing youtiao paired with dou jiang is the right Taiwanese breakfast combo.
Traditional Taiwanese breakfast? Check! But I still wish the person in front of me had eggs, instead of youtiao, with the shaobing.
阜杭豆漿Fu Hang Dou Jiang
2F Hua Shan MarketNo. 108, Zhongxiao E. Rd., Sec. 1, Taipei CityOpen daily from 530AM to 1230PMClosed on Mondays
Directions to Fu Hang Dou Jiang: Take the Bannan (Blue) Line to Shandao Temple Station, exit 5. Look for Hua Shan Market, which is the building on the corner of Zhongxiao E. Rd. and Shaoxing S. Rd.; Fu Hang Dou Jiang will be on the second floor (click map below to enlarge).
Taiwan Series:
Tourist Visa for Taiwan
Taiwan Preparations
What's in a (Business) Name? Taiwan
Wisdom from the Road #20
Welcome to Taiwan
Taipei Accommodation: Fun Taipei Backpackers
Free Taipei Tourist Stops
Jiufen
Wisdom from the Road #21
Taipei: An Artist's Playground
House Visits: Shilin Main Presidential Residence and Lin Family Mansion and Garden
Life in Mini
Time to Count My Money, Taiwan
Tasting Taipei, Starting with Breakfast (you're here!)
(more soon)